Mobile home destroyed; neighbor suspects foul play

Thursday

Mar 21, 2013 at 2:38 PM

A double-wide mobile home is a total loss after a Wednesday night fire on Brushy Drive, and a neighbor suspects arson may be the cause.

BY DARRICK IGNASIAKThe Dispatch

REEDS | A double-wide mobile home is a total loss after a Wednesday night fire on Brushy Drive, and a neighbor suspects arson may be the cause.Firefighters with the Reeds Volunteer Fire Department were dispatched to the mobile home fire at 8:17 p.m. The Reeds VFD was on the scene assisting the Davidson County Fire Marshal and State Bureau of Investigation agents with their investigation late Thursday morning.Reeds Chief Jeremy Hanes said firefighters arrived to find heavy fire coming from throughout the home. The chief said the mobile home was rental property and not occupied. Hanes said the fire was contained within 30 minutes upon arrival of firefighters.Hanes was unsure of the cause of the fire. Reeds firefighters turned over their oversight of the scene to the SBI and county fire marshal's office to conduct their investigation, the chief said."The way it was damaged, it was a total loss," Hanes said. "It's going to take some time to go throughout and find out the cause."Hanes said there wasn't a lot of property inside of the residence."(The) fire marshal told me the people had just recently moved out," he said. "There really wasn't anything in there except of what the property owner had."Hanes said Danny Ward, Davidson County's deputy fire marshal, was trying to reach the property owner Thursday for more details. Ward was not available for comment on the scene of the fire late Thursday morning as he was conducting his investigation.Neighbors of the residence in the 200 block of Brushy Drive said the occupants of the mobile home moved out this week."It's apparent that it was arson," said Adam Roberts, a resident of Brushy Drive.Roberts noticed the house completely engulfed about 10 minutes after an unfamiliar truck left the house. The truck, the neighbor said, was at the residence for about 20 minutes, but Roberts did not see anyone go in the house. Roberts was interviewed by fire investigators. He confirmed the people who lived at the residence rented the mobile home."As fast as it went up, my guess would be gasoline," he said.Ronnie Hill Sr. and his wife, Brenda, were at their Brushy Drive residence Thursday as the agencies conducted their investigation. Brenda Hill said four to six people lived at the mobile home.The Hills were alerted concerning the mobile home fire adjacent to their house by a neighbor. The Hills said the occupants of the house moved out Monday and Wednesday."Flames were shooting out near the dining area when we first came out to see it, and the roof started going in," Brenda Hill said.The Hills' son, Ronnie Hill Jr., used a water hose to keep the fire from spreading to his parents' residence.Reeds firefighters were assisted by West Lexington and Linwood volunteer fire departments, as well as Davidson County EMS and Davidson County Emergency Management, on the scene. No injuries were reported.Darrick Ignasiak can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 217, or at darrick.ignasiak@the-dispatch.com.